Phoebe in the Golden Sunlight
by Helena Mira
Summary: Hal and Phoebe return to the bed and breakfast for a brief honeymoon. Phoebe agrees to pose for not one, but the two portraits. The second is a very special gift for her husband.


**Spoiler Alert: **_This story was in part inspired by Juliet Mills' (Nanny) appearance in the movie 'Avanti.' This was her first role after Nanny and the Professor went off the air. _

_I do not own these characters and make no profit from their use._

**Phoebe in the Sunlight**

**Prologue**

Following their rather rapidly occurring engagement and elopement, Hal and Phoebe Everett found that they had thought of everything but a honeymoon. When Hal's parents and two brothers came for the weekend shortly after, that discovered that they were attempting to "honeymoon" while managing their daily lives as parents and Hal's as a full time university. As a surprise wedding gift, Hal's parents arranged for them to return to the Hill Top bed and breakfast where they would have three days alone together. Gratefully, they packed up and returned.

When their hosts, Julian and Madeline Hawthorne met them as they arrived, one of Hal's first questions was whether the offer by Maddie to paint his new wife in her bridal gown was still open. Watching the photographer take dozens of pictures of her earlier in the day, he realized that none of them would ever compare with a hand painted portrait. Despite her reluctance to pose for such a portrait, he knew that Phoebe would agree if he asked her to do it as a wedding gift.

Phoebe agreed and when they went to bed that night before he made love to her, he commented, "You realize that in a few months it will be impossible to have such a portrait painted."

"And why is that?" she said innocently.

"I don't think that that beautiful wedding gown will ever fit you again," he said with a knowing smile.

"And I suppose that throughout the next three days, you'll be doing your best to make sure that that happens," she replied with a secretive smile of her own.

"And beyond, my beautiful wife, and beyond," he said softly as he covered her mouth. The only thing he had left to say needed no words.

**Love in the Morning Light**

When Phoebe awoke on the first day of their "little honeymoon" she realized that Hal was still sleeping. The room was bathed in golden light that was streaming through the skylight above them. It felt warm and glorious. They were going to have three nights and days just to themselves. After the busy week following their private wedding ceremony she felt free. This gift of time, as her new in-laws called it was far more precious than anything they could have bought them. And while Phoebe and Hal were free to spend their time alone, they would not have to worry about the children. Hal's parents were staying with them.

Looking up at the sun shining through the clear glass, she couldn't help herself. Throwing off the bed covers, she let the light shine over her body. Leaning back, she let her golden hair fall behind her, closed eyes, and enjoyed the light as it warmed her body. Suddenly, she felt her husband's hands running over her. Lying back down, she opened her eyes to see him looking at her in admiration.

"I believe that that is the most beautiful vision that I have ever woken up to," he said.

"Take me, I'm yours!" she said and pulled him down for a passionate kiss.

Falling on her, he responded enthusiastically and pulling himself up for a minute, said,

"I believe I will."

It was a glorious feeling to make love in the early morning sunlight. Refreshed after a night's sleep away from the children they felt free to enjoy their lovemaking without the fear of a knock on the door. They were getting so much enjoyment from the feeling of one another's bodies as they slept, that nightclothes were a thing of the past. Such pleasure carried risks at home. There was a practical necessity for at least one of them to be ready to jump into something decent if they were needed immediately.

Now in the privacy of their room, Hal could enjoy wife to his heart's content without fear of being overheard. Phoebe was truly his. No man had ever taken her before. Once she had gotten over her initial discomfort, he had taken great delight into initiating her into the many pleasures that the female body could enjoy. At this moment, his male body was immensely enjoying these pleasures with her female body. From the first they had fit perfectly together.

When they were done, he said, "This morning you are my golden goddess, my Phoebe of the golden sunlight."

She lay comfortably back as his hands strayed over her body. She loved it when he played with her like that. She knew that it was not only for his pleasure but for hers as well. As he traced the curves he thought aloud,

"I wonder how long it will be before I will be tracing the curve of this stomach with our child growing inside?"

"Soon, I hope," she said, smiling at the thought.

"You know when she grows large enough, we'll be able to see, as well as feel her kicking," he commented.

"I wonder how she'll like it when you make love to me?"

"Do you think that you'll still want to make love when you're pregnant?" asked Hal surprised.

"Why not?" she asked. "You really think that I could go all that time without you?"

Hal didn't answer, but thought of his first wife, who had pretty much cut him off the minute she got the word until more than a year after. He had expected that it would be the same with Phoebe. Looking down at her, he saw that her lips had curved into a seductive smile. She had obviously read his mind because she softly said, "Never."

He gathered her up into a soft embrace. There was no sweeter feeling for her than when he held her safely in his arms.

"When I am with you like this," she said. "It's as if the whole world has slipped away and it is just us."

Holding her more tightly, he whispered, "It is."

**Portraits**

Later that morning, Phoebe felt very self-conscious as she put on her great-great-grandmother's wedding dress for Maddie, the artist who would be painting her picture in the dress. She would have preferred not to sit for the portrait, but when Hal requested it as her wedding gift to him, she couldn't say no. With a twinkle in his eye, he had told her that she would have to wait at least nine months for his gift.

She had already been extensively photographed in the dress. The day before she had stood for dozens of photographs, which the photographer insisted on taking.

"The camera loves you baby," he had said enthusiastically. "You've got gorgeous eyes, hair, and skin. And your lines are simply magnificent."

Knowing that her "lines" referred to her figure, she blushed. Seeing her embarrassment, and prompted by no small amount of jealousy at the attention this stranger was giving his bride and her body, Hal stayed close by the entire time. The only thing that bothered the photographer was the dress.

"On the one hand," he commented. "That old-fashioned dress is exquisite. On the other, it covers up most of you."

"And that's the way we like it," said Hal sharply.

Seeing that he was displeasing the groom with his flattery, and knowing that he would obviously want to be on good terms in order to sell him more pictures later, the photographer quickly shut up and took the rest of the shots with a courteous, but professional, manner.

However, this was entirely different. Maddie brought her to a room on the second floor that was presently unoccupied. She had an easel set up with her paints and a sketchbook. She had refused to let anyone view either the sitting or the painting until it was complete explaining,

"My method is to work from the outlines to the detail. I like my central image to emerge from the canvas. I also have a very specific expression that I want you to have on your face. If there was anyone else in the room, especially if he was speaking with you, you would have trouble maintaining it."

Phoebe looked around the room. Like all the second floor rooms, it had a skylight to allow natural light. The colors of the room were primarily gold with accents of yellow and orange. The entire room had a golden glow to it. There was a large mirror on the bureau and she noticed that the bed had been turned back. Maddie watched her as she slipped out of her day clothes and into the gown. She seemed to be examining her body very closely. She made it clear that she liked what she saw.

"You are a very graceful woman, Phoebe," she commented. "I would imagine that your husband enjoys watching you dress and undress, before and after you make love."

Phoebe turned pink, and Maddie smiled sympathetically.

"The portrait I am painting is of a young bride about to go to her husband's bed. Now of course you are no longer a virgin, but in some ways that doesn't matter. You came to your husband as a virgin."

"Is it that obvious?" asked Phoebe.

"Your modesty gives you away. A woman who has had many lovers is not embarrassed when someone compliments her body. You are still becoming accustomed to yours, and the idea that there may be beauty under all the layers of clothes you like to wear," she said.

When she was completely attired, she stood in the middle of the room. Maddie looked at her and said, "I am going to position you the way I want to. Try and think of yourself as a rag doll and let me move your arms and head to get the angles correct for the light and the composition."

Maddie walked her to the mirror and placed her beside it. She then returned to her easel and looked at the position. Shaking her head, she returned and turned Phoebe so that she was facing the mirror, angled on three-quarters. She spent a great deal of time angling her head, torso and arms to exactly the right positions. She then arranged her hair so that the curls fell over her shoulder and stepped back again.

"That's better," she said. "The effect that I want to achieve is of the bride looking in the mirror. This is a common motif in this genre of painting. Rather than have you face me, I am going to have you look into the mirror and pick up your face in the reflection. At this angle of the sun, the light reflected off the mirror creates a glow in your complexion. Also reflected in the mirror is the bed turned back."

"Is that to add to the effect?" asked Phoebe.

"Very good," said Maddie. "The turned back bed will show the viewer how the bride is caught between two moments of her life. The viewer will have to decide for himself whether the bride is looking at herself as she is dressed upon leaving her virginal bed or is undressing to go to bed with her husband for the first time."

"Wouldn't the wedding ring give that away?"

"You are very observant," commented Maddie. "The only way to achieve the ambiguity is for the left hand to not be visible. That is what I will do. The trickiest part will be to capture your eyes. A portrait artist always begins with the eyes. You have exceptionally blue eyes and are still a new enough bride to have an authentic modesty in them. I want you to look in the mirror at yourself shyly. This is how you look when someone compliments you on your looks."

Phoebe looked up into the mirror as she was told.

"Perfect!" said Maddie. "Now hold it."

For what seemed like a very long time, Phoebe stood gazing at her reflection in the mirror. She discovered that it was really not so difficult to remain still. Maddie worked in silence. Phoebe could hear the pencil sketching and the strokes of the brush but couldn't see her. She could however, see the bed very well. As she focused on the bed she remembered the first time that Hal had made love to her, not actually on a bed, but on the floor beside the fire in the living room.

She remembered when they had finally moved up to his bed. The mattress and sheets felt so soft after the hard floor. They had made love until they had fallen asleep in each other's arms. And when she had woken up it was to the sight of his face looking down at her. Without realizing it, the expression on her face must have changed because Maddie's voice broke into her reverie.

"Phoebe!" she scolded. "You are thinking of your husband as your lover. I can see in your eyes that you are imagining a time when you were in bed with him. You need to fix your mind on that time before he took you to his bed. Once I capture your face, you can think about anything that you want, but I'm not quite there yet."

Phoebe fixed her mind on one of the many times that he had held her in his arms and she was wishing that he would take her, but he was refusing. She remembered the yearning in her most inner being to be initiated into that final, sacred act that would make her a woman. However, she was too shy to effectively seduce him. Holding that thought in her mind was not easy, since it felt so long ago, but she must have done it well because Maddie said, "Beautiful. You may rest."

"May I see it?" she asked, as she gratefully sat down.

Maddie looked thoughtful and then said, "I don't think so. I am afraid that if you see it, it will affect how you pose for me. I would prefer that you not know entirely what I am doing."

Phoebe sighed. It felt good to sit after standing for so long. It was warm in the sunlight as she sat on the bed under a golden shaft coming through the skylight. She leaned back and tilted her head up toward the as she had earlier that morning. Her golden curls once again fell down her back.

Maddie looked up suddenly and said "Phoebe, I am going to ask you something and ask you not to say a word or make up your mind until you hear me out."

"Okay," said Phoebe slowly. She knew what was in the other woman's mind. But short of letting her know how perceptive her own mind was, she couldn't give her the absolute no answer that the suggestion deserved.

"You look absolutely glorious sitting in that light," she began. "Your hair shines wonderfully and your pale skin glows. Your blue eyes are filled with light. If you really want to present your husband with something special, you will allow me to paint you in the nude."

Knowing what was in her mind and then actually hearing the words spoken out loud were two completely different things. Phoebe drew the veil more closely around her and bent her head. Maddie could see that the young woman was deeply embarrassed. Most women in her position would have been flattered by such an offer, but she looked frightened.

Maddie sat beside her on the bed and drew her close.

"You obviously do not realize it," she said gently, "But you have a beautiful body. Your proportions are classical. Your bone structure is tiny, which is what lends to the fragility. Now is the time for such a portrait to be done. Once you start bearing children, and I know that you will, all that will change. Pregnancy and the time after, especially if you choose to nurse, add voluptuousness to your figure, which I guarantee that your husband will love. Now you still have the figure of a young girl. I would love to capture that beauty as it is at this very moment. It won't last long."

"I can't," replied Phoebe simply.

"We would do it in here," said Maddie, as if she hadn't heard her. "You and I will be the only ones in the room. After the first few minutes, you will become more comfortable with yourself, and with me. If you want to have children, there are going to be lots of people looking in all sorts of places right before you give birth. You'll lose your modesty fast enough then. But by then it will be too late. The sitting will be easier than the wedding portrait because you'll be reclining on the bed, with the sun shining down on you."

"I can't," repeated Phoebe. However, Maddie helped her to stand up and then began to undress her. Oddly, as the layers came off, she didn't try to stop her. Within minutes she was standing before the older woman, still as a Greek statue and just as naked.

"You are exquisite," breathed Maddie, as she turned her to face herself in the mirror.

How many times had she viewed herself in this manner before? Whenever she bathed or showered. This was how she had presented herself to her husband for the first time, as she offered him herself as a lover. She had never, however, viewed herself as an artist might. She tried to look at herself as if she was some other woman, and realized that indeed she was beautiful.

Suddenly, she did feel daring. If she allowed Maddie to paint this portrait for Hal's eyes only, she could only think of how he would love it. Knowing Hal, this would be the wedding gift that he would really want anyway. It would be a wonderful surprise for him. She looked at Maddie and no longer felt shy. She smiled tentatively. Maddie smiled back and said,

"Lie down here and we'll make you comfortable. I want this to be a completely open pose, hiding nothing. I want you to look back at me as you would your husband when you present yourself to him as a lover. Have no fears of what you will expose."

Phoebe lay back on the bed. Maddie propped her up on the pillows and then placed her right arm back behind her head. The left arm lay flat beside her, her hand with wedding and engagement rings clearly visible and she angled her towards the easel. The sunlight fell directly across her torso. At Maddie's instruction, she bent her right leg up, turned her left leg casually, angled down on the bed. She now angled her lower torso forward. Indeed, she had positioned her so that she was completely exposed and vulnerable to the onlooker. Yet, oddly, Phoebe did not feel exposed. She thought of her husband's face each night as he came to bed. She could feel her lips curving into a smile.

"That is perfect!" exclaimed Maddie. "You are the seductress now! The look in your eyes is begging your man to take you. It's a pity that the two portraits won't ever be exhibited side by side. I can tell you one thing, you won't ever want any man but your husband to see this picture."

Phoebe held the pose easily. She was so comfortable lying there in the sun that she could easily have gone to sleep. Whereas Maddie had worked before in silence now she encouraged Phoebe to talk about making love with her husband. No detail was too intimate to be shared. She found herself talking about things that she never thought that she would say out loud.

Maddie in turn spoke of her own sex life with her husband. She had had numerous partners before they were married and she spoke about them as well. Her casual attitude towards sex was both fascinating and repelling.

"Every man is different," she explained. "It's not a one size fits all type of thing. I admire the way that you are dedicating yourself to one man, but that wouldn't work for me."

By the time they were done it was nearly one. Phoebe was looking forward to seeing her husband. She missed him after their morning apart.

**Love in the Afternoon Light**

When Hal woke up from his "sleep in" he was feeling much more refreshed than he had earlier. He looked at the clock and saw that it was well after the noon hour. Phoebe had been gone a long time. He knew that that could mean only one thing. Maddie had convinced her to pose for the special portrait that she had suggested at breakfast after Phoebe left the table to get the wedding dress.

"You know, Professor Everett, Phoebe is a gorgeous woman," she commented.

"I do indeed," he answered. "This morning I woke up to find her preening all of that 'gorgeousness' in the golden sunlight. She looked spectacular. It's a vision that I will never forget."

Maddie looked at him and seemed to be thinking. Then she spoke up.

"How would you like a picture of your wife like that?" she asked. "I'm afraid that she's not going to maintain that figure for long after she starts bearing children. Unless you two are using birth control, she's going to get pregnant pretty quickly."

"I wouldn't dream of it," replied Hal with a smug smile. "Using birth control that is."

Maddie shook her head. "You men are all alike. You are so determined to make a permanent claim on your beautiful wife that you would turn her into a Madonna before she reaches thirty. In will take a mere nine months to ruin all those classical lines and curves forever."

"She wants children," said Hal defensively. "She can't wait to get pregnant and have a child. I think that last thing on her mind is her figure."

"Yes, I suppose that this is an ephemeral state for most women. I would love to capture your wife in this state as, shall we say, you woke up to her this morning," she replied. "I know that she is very modest, however she is making the great transition from maiden to Madonna. I think that I can convince her to allow me to immortalize all of that beauty on canvas, for your eyes only of course."

Hal found himself excited by the idea. After all, Maddie was a woman. Her paintings of the landscapes of the local area were infused with brilliant light. But he would never ask Phoebe to pose in such a way. He knew that she was sitting for the bridal picture only because he asked. She was barely comfortable with that.

"I can't ask her to do that," he answered. "She would if I asked, but I don't want her to do such a thing because I asked. I want her to make that choice freely."

Maddie had given him a secretive smile and said that she was sure that she could convince her without his help. When Phoebe arrived in the room, he was sure that she had agreed. His wife was a passionate lover, but now she completely abandoned herself to him. He had just finished getting dressed, but one look in her eyes and he realized that it had been a waste of time.

When she returned to their room, Phoebe demanded his lips. She fell into bed with him. For some reason after the freedom of lying completely nude for a total stranger for the past two hours had made her hungry for him. Perhaps it had been maintaining the seductive pose and facial expression. It didn't matter. Refreshed from the extra sleep he willingly complied with her demands.

Each time they came together after a separation, he always wanted to explore her again. She had come to love the feeling of his hands and his mouth all over her. It took him no time to become aroused and before they knew it they were rolling in the sheets. When they were done, she rested on his chest and sighed.

"I missed you this morning."

"I missed you too," he said as he stroked her hair. "That was a very long sitting."

"Well, she only has three days to work," replied Phoebe as she ran her hand across his chest. "And the sun is only right in the morning."

"Will I get to see it before we leave?" asked Hal.

"I don't even get to see it before she's done," answered Phoebe. "That's the way that she works."

"I'm sure it's beautiful," he said tenderly, as he traced the curves of her body. "You are so beautiful. I have never had another lover who could possibly compare with you."

She lifted herself up on her elbow. So that she could look down on him.

"Since you are the only lover I have ever had, I have nothing to compare you to," she said playfully, as she let her golden hair brush over his chest.

He pulled her down onto his chest and held her tightly.

"And I am the only lover that you ever will have," he responded possessively. "No other man shall ever know you as I do."

"I promised you my heart and soul. I gave myself to you and only you," she said quietly. "I will never share my body with another man."

Within his embrace, she wrapped herself around him, molding herself to him. They lay together in this way, and spoke of desultory matters. Then she realized that the sun had shifted and it was late afternoon. It didn't matter. That was why they were here, to enjoy the indolence of their leisure time and make love at will. However all this activity had made her hungry.

"Hal?"

"Hmm," he seemed to be half-asleep.

"We never had lunch today and I'm starving. Why don't we go out and find something to eat?" she asked.

"Sounds good. Do you want to drive over to the state park and go for a walk after?"

"I would love to," she replied.

**Discovery**

The next morning she found herself once again with Maddie, as she continued to work on the portraits. Hal complained when she refused to let him join them.

"The point of our coming up here alone was to spend more time together," he groused.

Maddie was amused.

"Hal, if you spend every minute in her presence, then you won't have the pleasure of reuniting with her after you've been apart. Think of it as a little self-denial before the feast," she suggested.

"I had over six months of self-denial before I married her. Now that I've married her, I want to have her whenever I want. When we go back home tomorrow, I'll have plenty of self-denial once again," he complained.

But Maddie just closed the door and locked it. Turning to Phoebe who was dressing in the wedding gown, she said,

"He's going to be one happy man when he sees 'Phoebe in the Golden Sunlight.'"

"Is that the title of the nude?" she asked curiously. "What is the wedding gown portrait titled?"

"That one is 'Phoebe in the Golden Glass.' That is the one of the woman captured in her gown and in the glass, waiting to be freed by her lover. The other is the picture of the woman who has just been freed. I want you to change your expression for that one to the woman who has just been freed by her lover, that moment of ecstasy when he releases her. You know, the expression you had on your face when you came downstairs after three hours in bed with him yesterday told me that you had had one marvelous afternoon of pleasure," said Maddie, amused by the look of surprise and the shyness on Phoebe's face.

"That's a great look for the glass picture. You need to try and hold that look of modesty while you can. I don't know what you two were up to all afternoon, but when you came down you had that lazy kitten look, fat and very satisfied. Now, no more talking! Focus on trying to retrieve your innocence," she ordered.

It wasn't as difficult as she thought. She found it shocking in some ways that an almost total stranger could look at her and know that she had just spent an entire afternoon making passionate love with her husband. However, the posing was surprisingly strenuous. Just as the day before, by the time she was done standing, she was tired. Today, she found it much easier to disrobe in front of Maddie. It was a relief to take off the heavy layers. Yesterday the artist had helped her out of the dress, but today she watched.

"Phoebe, I want to do something that may make you uncomfortable, but it will help me to get the texture of your skin right. I want to run my hands up and down your body so that I can feel your skin and get a tactile sense of your curves. Don't be surprised if this arouses you. If it does, I will capture that look in the painting. You may feel more comfortable if you close your eyes," she explained.

Once again, Phoebe felt daring. She was completely exposing herself to this woman, as she did to her husband anyway. She was starting to enjoy that fact that this painting, which would be for his eyes, only in any case, would have this sensual component. She suspected that when Maddie had suggested the wedding portrait that this had been her intention all along.

Just as with the other painting, Maddie used the portrait as a reference point as she positioned her on the bed. Phoebe noticed that her hands were smaller than Hal's and smoother. When she had placed her exactly as she had the day before, she began to feel her body. She closed her eyes. However Maddie's touch was very unlike her husband's.

Hal used his hands to stimulate and arouse by gently probing and touching. His goal was to create the sensations slowly, as he wanted to enjoy them himself. Maddie's hands were practiced. She knew exactly where to touch her and how to elicit the same physical responses more quickly, although it was no emotional experience. This was pure physical sensuality.

She began by tracing her jaw line over to her shoulders and down her arms. She then returned to her torso and gently caressed her breasts. She commented, "These are lovely, still very full. Once you have your first child, especially if you nurse, they will sag. It's a pity."

Regretfully she moved to her stomach and traced over her hips and down her legs. As Phoebe moaned, she said, "Perfect, let me capture that before you lose it."

Just like the day before, she talked as she worked and encouraged Phoebe to talk.

"Now that I've got you started, I need for you to keep it up for a while. Tell me in detail how your husband made love to you yesterday."

No longer shy, Phoebe described in detail how her husband had aroused her to great heights of passion. As she described how he entered her to share in her pleasure she could feel the sensations running through her body once more.

"Let it out," Maddie urged her. "Feel it again and let it out."

As she let the memories of the previous afternoon flood her mind, Phoebe could feel the sensations flood her body once more. She arched in pleasure and moaned.

"That was better than I hoped for," said Maddie. "I believe that I was able to capture the full intensity. You have a husband who is an amazing lover. I promise that tomorrow I won't be so demanding. I have what I need for the emotions of both pictures. Tomorrow it will all be about light and shadow."

"When will they be done?" asked Phoebe, weakly. It was the longing. The memories had stirred her desire. She wanted her husband.

"Probably in a couple of months," she said. "It's hard to say because I like to work on a number of paintings at once."

She worked for a while longer, once again describing the sexual pleasures that her husband had brought to her. She also admitted that she went to bed with other men when she was bored. That didn't bother Julian because he took other women as he pleased. They liked to discuss their experiences with each other and compare notes. Their variety of lovers helped them to experiment with different things that they could then enjoy with each other.

When she was done, she helped Phoebe dress, and she sent her back to Hal.

"Your husband should be grateful," she said with a smile. "I suspect that by the time you reach him, he's going to have to take you to bed again to satisfy what I started."

Phoebe nodded. When she found Hal lying in bed reading, she grabbed his book, tossed it off to the side and demanded he make love to her. She discovered that he had anticipated her desire. He was waiting for her. It was only she who had to shed her clothes. The idea that he was waiting patiently to make love to her increased her hunger.

He happily obliged every request she made. She had discovered those things that she enjoyed most, just as he knew what she could do to please him most. Yet today her appetite for him, for his touch and his kiss, was ferocious.

He later said, "Something tells me that I am really going to enjoy this painting."

Once again wrapped around him after she had been thoroughly loved she just looked at him and said, "I think you will."

Lying in the sunlight, in the warmth of his embrace, she decided that Maddie was wrong. Her husband knew her body better than any other person could. What they shared was not purely physical. It was a deep love that they shared exclusively with one another. Their mutual commitment to one another added a dimension to their lovemaking that women such as Maddie would never know.

She felt sorry for her, searching for a lover who would satisfy her. She did not have to search. She would sleep by his side each night and bear his children. There was no greater satisfaction in life than that.

**Love, Under the Stars**

Later that afternoon, Hal announced that they were going out to dinner in the little town where he had found the authentic Chinese restaurant. She had suspected that he had been up to something because he had spent the afternoon with the smile on his face that she had learned meant that he was planning a surprise.

When they arrived, she was surprised that the old Chinese couple remembered them. She was even more surprised that they had expected that they would be married. The old woman explained that the glow of love in Phoebe's eyes had told her that she was soon to be a bride.

After dinner, they drove out to the state park. Hal found a good parking spot, not far from where they had viewed the meteor shower two months ago. He pulled a picnic basket from the trunk and a blanket and led her to their viewing spot. He laid out the blanket and insisted that she sit down while he unpacked the basket. It held a bottle of wine and two glasses, cheese and crackers in case they got hungry, and candles for when it got dark. Looking very pleased with himself he sat down beside her.

"This is perfect," she told him.

"I was hoping that the weather would be good tonight. There's no meteor shower, but the sky is clear. We will have lots of stars to see," he said and lay back.

She lay beside him and snuggled close. He hugged her and whispered, "We have a little unfinished business from our last trip up here. Once it gets dark, I'll make sure you really see stars."

She shivered in anticipation.

"I think that a little wine might warm you," he said as he got up to uncork the bottle and pour a couple of glasses. They had talked so much the past two days that they enjoyed a little silence. Yet their silence spoke volumes. It was one of those times when they did not need words to convey their feelings.

Since their marriage, as their hearts had become ever more closely entwined with one another, in quiet, still moments like these, their minds joined easily. The love they shared, the hopes and dreams that were now possible because of their commitment to share their lives were a part of their mutual existence. They needed no spoken words to convey them. They simply were.

As darkness fell, Hal lit the candles, which cast a warm glow. She could see his face through the shadows looking at her with desire. She knew that those same feelings were reflected back in her eyes. She lay back and said, "Make love to me."

When she had returned from the portrait sitting earlier in the day, those words had been a demand. Now they were a request. Hal fell on her and gently took her. There was tenderness in his touch despite the hunger in his kisses. In the candlelight and starlight everything felt peaceful and calm. The night belonged to them.

And when it was over they held each other tightly. It was their last night away from the kids. Tomorrow night they would go back to locking the bedroom door and hoping that neither would be needed at an inconvenient time. Hal sighed.

"Me too," answered Phoebe. "It was really great of your family to create this time for us to be away. I am very much looking forward to our big honeymoon."

"Mother and Father were so thoughtful to be willing to stay with the kids at home," said Hal. "I've never been to Hawaii, mostly because I always thought of Hawaii as the Royal Hawaiian, full of tacky tiki torches and Don Ho."

"I've never been there either and my impression was the same. Kauai sounds lovely," she replied.

He held her closer. He was afraid to say it out loud, but he was wondering if she might not be pregnant by then, and if she were, would she really enjoy it. Phoebe knew his thoughts, but decided not to answer. She knew that even if she had conceived by then, she would enjoy being alone with him, regardless. And if there were three of them, even if one were only along for the ride, so to speak, it would make their lovemaking even sweeter.

**Epilogue**

The next day, Maddie worked intently on both pictures. She was mostly silent as she worked on the nude. She explained that she was working to capture the light and shadow as it fell on her body. She spoke as if she were once again the artist analyzing the artwork.

"I am treating the curves and planes of your figure as if they were a landscape," she told her. "Your husband is still exploring you as you are. He will continue to explore you throughout the time you are pregnant and then after. A man who is truly in love with his wife enjoys her in all phases of the nine months. I think that it gives him a sense of power and possession to see a woman swelling with his child growing inside. Many women are afraid to let their husbands make love to them when they find out that they are pregnant."

"Why is that?" asked Phoebe, who couldn't imagine not wanting her husband to make love to her.

"I think that it may have to do with the hormones, or possibly the fear that it is bad for the child," she replied. "I think that if you want your husband, you should encourage him. Something tells me that your husband won't need a lot of encouragement. He will be enjoying the physical changes to your body. It's not only the waist that expands, you know."

Maddie smiled at her suggestively and Phoebe understood.

"I suspect that when you return to pick up the paintings that you will be with child," she said. "Unless you are using birth control, the frequency with which you two make love is certain to lead to conception. And you very much want your own child."

"How can you tell?" she asked.

"Your whole face softens and you almost grow misty-eyed whenever the subject comes up," she said quietly. "It is when you actually look most beautiful. I might mourn the loss of your virgin proportions, but you were truly born to be a Madonna. Perhaps you will allow me to paint you then."

She worked from then on in silence. When she was done, she once again covered the canvases. She let Phoebe dress herself and before she left said, "Phoebe Everett, you are a rare beauty. Part of your beauty is your deep love and commitment to a single man. Never lose that."

"I never will," said Phoebe, simply, yet with feeling.

This time when she returned to their room, she could see that Hal had finished packing. He helped her to carefully put away the dress. She would not wear it again. The next woman to wear it would be Trelawney or one of their daughters. Hal could see that she was affected by the idea of not seeing the dress again for a long time. He took her in his arms and softly stroking her hair, he kissed her forehead.

"The portrait will help you remember how beautiful you looked as a bride," he said gently. "I suspect that it will be better than any photograph. It will give our daughters something to dream about."

When the tears came, they were not for her, but for her mother. She knew that many years ago, as a new bride, she had packed away the dress, dreaming that she would someday unpack it with her own daughter and share the moment. Yet a drunk driver had robbed not only her mother, but also herself and her sister, of that moment. It was at this time, when, because she had the time to truly think about it, that she finally realized that this was the first of many moments that fate had taken this woman from her who was truly her bond with the previous women in her family. In this realization, came the flood of tears.

Because he knew that her grief came from a well too deep for him to reach, Hal simply held her tenderly and let her cry until there were no more tears. He knew there were no words of comfort he could speak. He knew her mind and she knew his. She may have lost her link with the past, but with him a new link would be forged with the future. At that moment, all he could think of was the child that they would bring into the world to help her recreate the mother-daughter bond that she had lost. Perhaps she had perceived his desire, for her sobs quieted and her breathing slowed. She was at peace.

As she rested in his arms, she thought of her own dreams. Her own dream of marrying him and binding herself to him for life had come true. She felt that it was proof that her new dream for the gown would also come true. It was the dream that someday she would see her own daughter dressed in the gown. She would pin the cameo on it and share with her the secret that it would be passed to the next bride. This was her dream for Maragret.

**The End**

_A more provocative version of this story (rated 'M') can be found under the title "Phoebe in the Golden Light." It is not for the faint-hearted, who might find one scene shocking._


End file.
